The year 1964
by Izzy
Summary: MWPP's first year. Also Meet Lily, Ali Lovegood, Lauran Odoner, and, of course, Snape.
1. The Letter

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "The Letter", the first installment of another segment of the Very Long Series, this one of the MWPP era. In this story, Albus and Minerva are Rowling's, and Melantho Cenjorn is mine. 

## The Letter

### By Izzy

Dawn came onto the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with noone taking notice during the summer. Well, almost noone. 

A ray of sunlight fell through the window of the chamber where the Headmaster slept during the school year. He was asleep there that morning as well, and he was not alone. As the ray fell on Minerva McGonagall, her eyes blinked open. 

Instantly awake as she usually was, she rolled around and stared at the ceiling. All in all, it had not been a bad decision to spend the holidays at the school. When even the teachers went home there were just them and Hagrid, now the full-fledged gameskeeper. Both she and Albus were early risers, but many mornings during the summer they would have breakfast in bed together, before getting up midmorning. The rest of the morning was usually spent with work, sending and receiving owls, and taking care of other tasks that came up. Afternoons meant long strolls together through the castle and grounds, learning more about each other then either ever thought there was, even after five years. The official story was that as newly Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall felt the need to spend her summers at the school. 

Albus was waking up now. She propped her head up to watch him. She noted the streaks of silver in his beard had increased again. His eyes opened, and he smiled at her. "Morning." 

"Morning. What are we doing today?" 

"We still have to choose the Prefects. I'm expecting Professor Springmore's recommendations for Ravenclaw today-any minute now, in fact. If I can have your recommendations?" 

"Robert Pattatak and Septimus Fatmire. Have you selected the Head Boy and Girl yet?" 

"As a matter of fact I have. You'll be pleased to know I followed your recommendation and choose Virginia Weasley as Head Girl." 

"Who's Head Boy?" 

"Harold Bones of Hufflepuff." 

Then they heard a rapping at the window. "We'd better get up." 

A few minutes later, with both of them up and dressed, Albus opened the window, and two owls flew in. "That's strange. I was only expecting Springmore's owl today." He picked up the first piece of parchment the owls had dropped. "Yes, this is Springmore. He's recommended Johnathan Bones and Ginger Seal. He picked up the second piece of parchment, which was considerably larger. He browsed through it, and he looked very surprised. "It's from Melantho." 

Melantho Cenjorn. Albus's lover before her. "Why's she writing?" 

"I don't know." He sat down to read, Minerva peering over his shoulder. 

_Dear Albus, _

Hi! You're probably wondering why I'm suddenly writing after so long, but when you're done with this letter, you may wonder why I didn't write for so long.   
You see, I was rather angry with you, going and falling for a student like that when you had me! Don't you know what that does to a girl? And yes, I knew about how you felt about McGonagall, before you did I wouldn't be surprised. I'm not angry anymore though. I don't think you and I would have lasted in the end. I hear she's at Hogwarts(in your old position, no less!), so if you haven't already, get her to get with you. I've got the feeling neither of you will regret it.   
But to the point of this letter. I suppose you've realized by now(It has been about twelve years)that that last night before I walked out on you both of us forgot to use the Sterilization Charm. About a month afterwards, I discovered myself to become pregnet. Well, you know me Albus. I could never be a good mother. And I decided I would not tell you, because I was now even angrier with you, and I had the feeling you couldn't be a good father either. And while I supposed I could kill the baby if absolutely nessecary, I really didn't want to.   
At this point, I had taken an apparment in Surrey and was trying to live as a Muggle for awhile. I had a job as Muggle secretary, and I worked for a man by the name of Matthew Evans. He had recently married his second wife, a very sweet woman by the name of Kathryn. They were hampered in thier happiness, however, by the existence of a daughter by his first marriage, a girl called Petunia. They now had complete custody of her, because her mother(divorced from Matt) had been killed in a car crash a year ago. And she was not a very nice girl. They could never go out, because they could never get anyone to babysit her. They were trying for a second child, but so far had had no luck.   
Figuring I had found the solution, I offered to babysit. At the end of the evening, I worked a fetal transplant spell and few memory charms. Eight months later Katt bore a little girl called Lily(Matt has a penchant for flower names). She's got your hair and my eyes, but her face is a blend enough that neither one of us in recognizable, which as you can imagine is fortunate. Then Evanses have raised Lily as thier own.   
Of course I wanted some influence in my daughter's upbringing. That was a rather easy thing to have though. I was the only person in the world willing to babysit Petunia, so I babysat for her, and for Lily as she grew up. Lily is very attached to me, she even calls me Aunt. Petunia doesn't like me as much. She hates Lily too, though Lily is sweet to everyone, much like Katt. The eight months she spent in Katt's womb must have had some influence on her. Everyone now and then I catch myself thinking of her as Katt's daughter entirely.   
I was a bit worried that Lily might turn out to be a squib, spending eight months in a Muggle woman's womb. But my fears were unfounded. Lily was doing magic very early in life, and she got her letter from Hogwarts a week ago. The minute Matt mentioned at work that Lily had gotten a strange letter, I told him I was a witch, and I could take care of her. Tommorrow I'll be taking Lily to Diagon Alley to get her supplies.   
We can't tell her the truth yet. She won't understand. For now she'll have to believe she's Muggle- born. But just remember, when the girl with dark red hair and green eyes steps up to the Sorting Hat, that's our little girl. 

Yours,   
Melantho


	2. A Girl In Diagon Alley

490-1990:1964Izzy here, with my fanfic, "A Girl in Diagon Alley", the second story in the MWPP segment of the Very Long Series. Now we get to meet the main characters(some of them, anyway). Some of them are also owned by JK Rowling, but some are not. A Girl in Diagon Alley By Izzy 

Lily was a pretty heavy sleeper, and needed the alarm clock to wake her most mornings. This was odd, because the rest of the family slept very light. When she woke up that morning, Petunia was already up and gone. 

Yawning she turned off the alarm clock and started getting dressed. With a rush of excitement she remembered today was the day Aunt Melantho took her to get her stuff for magic school. 

Aunt Melantho wasn't her real Aunt, she was merely her babysitter, but Lily felt very attached to her. She was a heavy blonde woman with emerald green eyes the same color as Lily's. Petunia thought Melantho had something to do with Lily's existance, and now that they knew she was a witch, Lily thought she might have blessed her mother. 

Petunia was a mystery to her half-sister. She didn't like Lily, and Lily couldn't think why. She was always nice to Petunia. But also Lily's mother and Petunia step-mother was kindess itself towards Petunia, and Petunia seemed to hate her. Why did Petunia react badly towards kindness? 

When Lily came down for breakfast, Petunia frowned at her, but her parents both smiled. "Eat quickly dear." her mother said. "She'll be here any minute." 

"I'm done." announced Petunia, pushing away her half-empty bowl of cereal. Thier father looked like he wanted to keep her at the table, and had just opened his mouth, when his mother put her hand on his arm. He looked at her, then closed his mouth and let Petunia go. 

Lily was just finishing her breakfast when the doorbell rang. Her parents hurried to answer it, but Lily paused to put her breakfast dishes in the sink. 

She ran to the front door to see her mother and father talking with Melantho. The minute she saw Lily, she darted over and tried to scoop her up, failed, and laughed. "You've gotten a little big." 

"I got too big for you pick up a long time ago." Lily reminded her. 

"Oh yes, I forgot. Well, Lily, get your jacket and get ready to go." 

Two minutes later Lily was darting out of the door while Melantho said goodbye to her parents. 

"We'd like to thank you for this." Her father was saying. "You've made this so much easier." 

"It's nothing." Lily heard Melantho reply. "If you don't mind me saying, I've always felt like part of the family here." 

"We've always considered you part of the family as well," Lily's mother said. 

"Thanks, Katt. I'll bring your daught back safe." 

Melantho had said they were going to London. How were they going to get there? The train station was quite a long walk away. "Aunt Melantho, are we walking to the train station?" 

Melantho laughed so hard Lily could tell she'd said something very foolish. Gaining her breath back, she replied, "No, Lily. We're flying." 

"FLYING?" 

"Yep. See that broom?" 

She pointed to a broom standing the Evanses fence. It was rather large for a broom, and had a tail of twigs instead of straw. "We're flying on that?" 

"We are." She walked over to fence, picked up the broom, and headed for the backyard, motioning for Lily to follow. 

Once in the backyard, she started checking to make sure noone was looking. When she was sure they were completely alone, she tapped the broom, causing it to jump up, then settle down several inches above ground. "Come here." 

Lily watched as Melantho climbed onto the broom, then turned and said, "Come on, Lily. Get on behind me." 

Catiously Lily swung her leg over the broomstick and felt herself being propped up by a cushion of air. "Hold on tight to me," said Melantho, she pulled the broom up, and next thing Lily knew, they were flying up. Within seconds Lily was sure noone on the ground could see them, and then they straightened out. High above England, Lily could see what she thought was all of Surrey. 

"Like it?" Lily nodded. She didn't know why, but she knew now there could be nothing as good as flying. "Well, let's coast then." 

Off they went, the world below them, the clouds above them, one or two clouds below them, the wind blew Lily's hair and skirt behind her, as she found herself torn between gazing at the country below her and enjoying the sheer sensation of flying. 

All too soon they were approaching London. Melantho tapped the broom with her wand and muttered something. Then both she and the broomstick abruptly vanished. Lily was still holding onto Melantho, and could feel herself doing so, but could see nothing but the sky around her. She looked down, and discovered her legs had vanished. 

Then she heard Melantho's voice. "Keep holding on. I've made us invisible." 

Lily felt herself drop as they descended. London revealed itself. Down she went, still clinging to an invisible Melantho, trying not to get disoriented. It wasn't easy. She gazed down as the buildings, wondering where they were going to land. 

She dropped again, felt a jolt as they landed, and found herself in front of a tiny grubby-looking pub. Melantho's voice muttered something again, and she appeared, along with the broomstick. Lily looked down and was very pleased to see her legs again. 

Melantho climbed off the broom, and Lily slid off, suddenly finding fight the Earth's gravity difficult. Melantho helped her up. "Better then I did my first time on the broomstick. It's a pity you can't have a broomstick this year, but I'll get you one next year." 

Together they walked into the pub, Lily swiftly finding herself able to walk again. "This is The Leaky Cauldron. It's through here that-" 

"Melantho!" Melantho was interrupted when a man with a slight beard got up and hurried over. 

"It's been an eternity! Where have you been these last ten years?" 

"Helenus! I've been down in Surrey, living as a Muggle. I only intended to try it for a year or so, but I got sidetracked by this girl here." she pointed to Lily. "I was witnessed to her birth, and I got attached. And then she turned out to be a witch, so..." 

"I see. What's her name?" 

"Lily Evans. Lily, this is Helenus Odoner. He taught Ancient Runes at Hogwarts some time ago, when I taught Defense Against the Dark Arts there." 

"And I still do." added the man. "And intend to for some time." 

"Wouldn't your daughter be in Lily's year?" asked Melantho. 

"Why yes she would. Lauran! Would you come over here?" 

Then Lily noticed the girl who had been sitting with Professor Odoner. She leapt up, her light brown hair flipping about her head. She walked shyly over. 

"This is my daughter Lauran. Lauran, this is Melantho Cenjorn, an old teacher, and this is Lily Evans, who'll be in your year." 

"Cool." Lauran gave a friendly smile. 

They passed out of the Leaky Cauldron into the backyard. "So, are you her daughter?" she gestured to Melantho. 

Lily shook her head. "She's my babysitter, actually." 

"So, are your parents Muggles?" 

"Are my parents what?" 

Lauran grinned. "I guess they are, then." 

"If you say so," replied Lily. 

"I'm sorry," said Lauran. "Muggle's a word for non-magical people. Any siblings?" 

"A sister-what's happening to the wall?" For a hole was forming as the two adults watched. 

"You are now entering Diagon Alley," Melantho answered, having heard Lily's question. "The one- stop shopping spot for all your wizarding needs." 

Lily stepped through the hole, and gazed at a dozen stores selling the craziest things-though on second thought, they probably weren't crazy in the wizarding world. 

"Go on," continued Lauran, stepping through the hole next to her. "You have a sister?" 

"Yep, Petunia." 

"Lily. Petunia. I suppose she looks like you." 

"No, she doesn't actually. She's blonde for one thing, and our faces aren't alike either. In fact, she looks like that girl, except for the hair color." And she pointed to a horse-faced girl with reddish- brownish hair nearby, who was walking with a a very bony woman and another girl with very black hair and heavy eyelids. 

Lauran burst out laughing. "That's Samantha Wilkes! And the girl with her is Tullia Flantar. The snottiest girls in Godric's Hollow!" 

"Petunia's pretty mean too." 

"So, Petunia's her Muggle equivelent?" 

"I think you could think of her that way, yes." 

"Why don't you wait out here, girls?" asked Mr. Odoner. They had stopped at a marble building. 

"What is this place?" asked Lily in response. 

"Gringotts Bank. The goblins here really don't like me, so it would be better if you stayed outside." 

"The goblins??" 

Mr. Odoner chuckled, and he and Melantho went inside. 

"Um, why don't the goblins like your father?" Lily asked Lauran timidly. 

"Well..." started Lauran. 

Pretty soon, however, Lauran had lost Lily in her telling about hags, dealers in giant lizards, and something called a Hippogriff. She just nodded every now and then, hopping Lauran wouldn't realize she was completely clueless. 

"What are you two doing out here?" asked a rather uppity voice. 

The voice belonged to a young blonde woman. She was accompanied by a boy with greasy black hair, who looked about Lily and Lauran's age. 

"Waiting." said Lauran. "Why?" 

"You are blocking the entrance." 

Lauran sighed with annoyance. "We're not blocking it entirely" she said, and they weren't, either. 

"You're blocking it enough." 

Not wanting a fight, Lily moved out of the way. Lauran reluctantly followed. 

"That's more like it. Come along, Severus, and hurry up." 

"It's okay," said Lily, when they had passed. "she looked older, she has to be graduated by now." 

"But her brother!" groaned Lauran. "We're going to have to deal with him!" 

Then Melantho emerged with Mr. Odoner, just as brother and sister reached the door. "Why, Narcissa Snape! What a surprise to see you!" 

"That's Narcissa Malfoy, thank you very much!" 

"Oh!" said Melantho. "You married that boy Lucius? Must have been for his money, how old are you anyway? I don't remember you." 

"She isn't too young," Mr. Odoner answered. "She started the year after you left." 

"You're Narcissa?" Lauran turned and ran over, Lily following. 

"Your daughter, I assume," said Narcissa. She said the word "daughter" rather disparagingly. "And yours as well." 

"Not quite," said Melantho. 

"Then what is she?" she sneered. "A Mudblood?" 

Lauran gasped, and Melantho appeared very angry. "I'm certainly very glad, I didn't have you, Mrs. Malfoy, if you were to call this girl, who is more a witch then you, I would say, that. Come along, Lily, we will not waste our time with Malfoys." A Few Minutes Later, Madame Malkins's 

"Like this place so far?" asked Lauran. 

"It's rather neat," answered Lily. 

"Just neat?" asked Lauran dissapointedly. 

"I'm too overwhelmed to say anything else."


	3. Daughters, Brothers, and Sons

490-1990:1964 Izzy here, with my fanfic, "Daughters, Brothers, and Sons", the next piece of 1964 from the Very Long Series. Hogwarts, Albus, Minerva, Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Snape, several more Slytherins, and anyone else who I might have missed are Rowling's. Lanny Poffo is property of the T.C. Williams High School Drama Department(don't ask). Everyone else is mine. 

Daughters, Brothers, and Sons   
By Izzy 

"Wouldn't you like to do the honors, Minerva?" Albus asked as they entered the Great Hall. 

"Well," she replied, "I thought Helenus would want to-" 

"He doesn't," Albus told her. "He told me. He thought you should do it, because of young Potter-" 

"Very well, I'll do it." They sat down at the head of the staff table and waited for the students to come streaming in. 

First in were the Head Boy and Girl, Harold Bones and Virginia Weasley. The new Prefects trailed in after them, trying to catch what they were saying. Then they parted ways. Weasley was followed by Robert Pattatak and Septimus Fatmire, Harold Bones was followed by Katie Tuver, and Johnathan Bones, Donna Ingon, and Anna Tyroch looked about scared for a second before walking very briskly to the Ravenclaw and Slytherins tables. 

After this the rest of the school came in. Minerva got up and began moving towards the entrance, the students moving out of her way. She moved out of the entrance and out of sight. 

Shortly after everyone was settled she emerged with the first years. Usually Albus took a look at them individually when they went up to the Sorting Hat, it was a much clearer chance to see them, but this year he began analyzing them while they were in line. As discretely as possible, another reason he waited most years was as to not frighten them. They rarely noticed who was looking at them exactly when everyone was staring. 

He spotted the werewolf, Remus Lupin, first. He was at the very end of the line, which was something to be concerned about. Albus did hope he would eventually make friends, life would be hard enough for the poor boy as it was. 

Young James Potter was easy to recognize. He had his father's messy hair and glasses, and also, Albus noticed, his skin tone. But his mother's color had gone into that hair, and into his eyes. He was talking to a another black-haired boy, Sirius Black probably. 

Further down the line was Lauran Odoner, and standing next to her-that must be her. Lily Evans. He spent more time staring at her then he did at the others. He could spend a long time, when she didn't know he was looking, determining just which of her parents had donated each line and curve of her face. She was his daughter, and he already loved her as such, though she would not know yet. 

And near the other edge of the line he saw a greasy-haired boy that he believed to be Narcissa Snape's young brother, Severus. But he could not be sure. 

He returned his attention to Minerva as she unrolled the scroll of names, and began reading. "Avery, Michel!" 

Albus had now reached the point in his career that he could recall teaching these childrens' parents. Though he wasn't sure who Avery's mother was, his father had been in Slytherin. And two seconds after sitting down on the stool, Avery followed his father's footsteps. 

"Black, Sirius!" 

Not all of thier parents, though. Sattagarius Black had only been a year below him, and his mother had been in Albus's year. They had both been Ravenclaws, but this Black had barely sat down when the hat screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" 

"Bulstrode, Carla!" 

Bulstrode had also been a year below Albus, though who the girl's mother was he had no idea. Several seconds, and then, "SLYTHERIN!" 

On the other hand, Albus did remember the parents of both "Caudwell, Owen" and "Certhe, Harriet", who became a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff, respectively. Then came, "Dolon, Anna", "Dradmay, Elizabeth", and then- 

"Evans, Lily!" The girl walked a bit shakily to the hat, and Albus leaned forward in spite of himself. He had no idea where she would go. The hat fell over her head, there was nearly ten second's silence, then the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" 

Meanwhile James Potter watched as the girl joined the Gryffindors. _Two so far._ He knew he would have to be a Gryffindor. Or he'd never hear the end of it from his father. But truely, James could not imagine himself as anything else. 

He watched the Sorting with interest, but there were no more Gryffindors until the Ls. Then suddenly there were three in a row:"Lovegood, Ali", "Lupin, Remus", and "Odoner, Lauran". 

They'd reached the Os. He was about to go on. 

"Pettigrew, Peter!" 

James watched as the boy reached the stool, put the hat on, and sat down. And sat. And sat. And sat. And sat. And finally, just when James was really losing patience, "GRYFFINDOR!" _My turn!_ James thought with relief. 

"Poffo, Lanny!" 

_Or not._ James was not usually an impatient person, but this was getting frustrating. 

"RAVENCLAW!" 

"Potter, James!" 

His frustration evaporated instantly, and he went eagerly to the stool. The hat fell over his eyes, and for a moment, all was silence. 

"A bit of this, a bit of that," the hat muttered. "There's no way you couldn't swing." A pause. "I take that back. You're swinging towards GRYFFINDOR!" 

Yes, he definitly was. The Hat knew its stuff. James was very happy as he sat down in the seat Sirius had saved for him. 

"Not much to do now 'cept watch Snape join the rest of the losers." James, Sirius, and Severus Snape all lived on the outskirts of the same village, and every since childhood, James and Sirius had been best friends, and James and Snape had been worst enemies. 

"Seguine, Isadore" to Hufflepuff. "Sett, Amy" to Ravenclaw. And forward went Snape. And then forward he went to Slytherin. James and Sirius booed loud enough for the entire hall to stare at them. "Talk about immature!" James heard the redhead who'd joined the Gryffindors with him say to Lauran Odoner. He didn't care. It wasn't like she would ever understand such things. 

On the other hand, he heard the other girl say back, "Well, it is Snape." He had the feeling he'd like her better. 

He continued to talk to Sirius through Professor Dumbledore's announcements. At least until he heard Dumbledore say, "And if Mr. Potter and Black will please pay attention, this may be of interest to them." causing both boys to jump guility. All three of Evans, Odoner, and Lovegood giggled. 

"As I was saying," he didn't sound angry, though, much to James's relief, "the Forbidden forest- " was off limits to students; their parents had read James and Sirius this speech before they got to the school, for fear they wouldn't heed it. They made a show of listening. 

James and Sirius both preferred feasting to listening, pretend or no. So when the feast finally began, they did not bother to resume talking. At least until another boy came over;a slender- looking boy with brown hair. "Lupin Rem-er-Remus Lupin?" asked Sirius with his mouth full. 

"Yes, that's me," answered the boy. 

"So, where you from?" asked James. 

"Nowhere, really," said Remus. "My family's a traveling one. I haven't lived in one place for more then a month since I was five." 

He didn't mention that when he was five, his life had been changed for the worst, and that was why his family had become travelers, to avoid people. Though they'd never been very social people even before that. Something to do with that aunt of his. He'd never met her, but apparently she'd gotten the family involved in scandal, after which they'd left the place the family long dwelled, and they hadn't found a place to settle down before- 

"Wow, seen any cool places?" asked James. 

"Not really," said Remus. Most of the places he had been to had been far from society, and not much to look at. 

An arguement had broken out further up the table. Looking closer, James suddenly said, "Why it's the Prefects and Head Girl!" 

The argument continued until dinner was over, then the Head Girl stood up and yelled, "Gryffindor first-years follow me!" 

James, Sirius, and Remus got up. They were joined by Peter Pettigrew and by the three girls. James held out his hand to the former of these newcomers. "So-" 

"Quiet!" barked the the Head Girl. Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but she saw and cut him off with a move of her hand. 

They had traveled a good way when the Head Boy(James could tell who he was by his badge) came running up to them. "Virginia!" 

"Harold," she said impatiently, "can't you see I'm leading the first-years?" 

He grabbed her and whispered in her ear. Instantly her expression changed. "Well, yes, yes, of course...but I think I better get these students to the common room first. They can't even get in without me." 

"Why can't one of the lesser Prefects do that?" 

Virginia sighed. "They all can't for various reasons. In fact, this is the worst set of fifth-year Prefects I've ever seen. It's all that sixth-year's doing. What's his name-Travers. He somehow got wind Tuver was Prefect. So he got to her sometime during the summer." 

"You think so?" 

"I know so. You weren't in the Prefect's compartment, were you?" Harold shook his head. "She was hysterically talking about a lot of things. Fortunatly the sixth-year and seventh-year were elsewhere, but the fifth-years were all freaked out, and still are. We're definitly going to have to talk about that too, but I better get these into their dorms." 

He nodded. "Go on." 

"What's going on?" James asked her. She shushed him. Having already learned there was no open speculating in her presence, he pondered in his mind while she led them through the common room, and directed them up to their dorms. Once they were settled in and Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew seemed asleep, James and Sirius sat in the middle of the room. 

"Okay," said James, "theories?" 

They came up with a lot of insane theories that night, before falling asleep on the floor. 


	4. Nightmares and Dreams

Izzy here, with my fanfic, "Nightmares and Dreams," the next installment in the Very Long Series, MWPP era. Everyone here is actually Rowling's. Pretty unusual for me, huh? 

Nightmares and Dreams   
By Izzy 

_"So you two have been spying on us." James and Sirius froze as Virginia Weasley, who had just been talking with Harold Bones. James reached for his wand, and discovered, to his horror, it had dissapeared. _

"I congratulate you. You are very clever boys. So, why were you spying on us?" 

"Well," said James, "we were wondering what's going on that you two keep talking about?" 

"Okay. Listen closely-" 

Then, of course, James woke up. 

He sighed softly. It'd been such a nice dream. And he still had no idea what they had had to talk about that night. 

He shifted in bed far enough to get a look at the clock. An hour to sleep. 

He lay awake for half an hour then, listening to Sirius murmer in his sleep. Sirius seemed to be dreaming about home, and about his parents. That was odd, because he usually didn't seem to miss them when he was at home. In fact, he had often claimed he would never miss them. Looked like those claims were wrong. 

He was just drifting off to sleep again when he suddenly heard a much less pleasant noise. It was coming from Remus Lupin's bed. It was a squeak of fright. 

Then there was a bigger squeak. James heard the bedsheets rustle loudly. Then he heard a frightened moan. It sounded like a nightmare. 

Silently James got out of bed and walked to Remus's bed. The boy was tossing and turning wildly. James shook him. 

Next thing James knew, he was on the floor, Remus's hands digging painfully in his chest. The boy's expression was wild, and for a second, James thought there was some sort of beast pinning him down. Then Remus quickly got off him. "Sorry. For a moment, I thought you were something else." 

"What?" James asked. 

Remus shook his head. "Something very horrible." 

"You don't want to talk about it?" 

Taking Remus's silence as an affirmation, James said, "Well then, what say we sit down? Unless you want to go back to sleep." 

"No," answered Remus quickly, "Not yet." 

"Well then," They sat down on the stone behind the window. James tried not to fidget as Remus snuggled into him, trying to remind himself that the boy had just had a nightmare and probably needed close human contact. "Do you have nightmares often?" he asked. Remus nodded and squeaked. _Likely he runs to him mum after them, and she's not here right now. I can't be his mum forever, but I think I can tonight._

"Do they follow a pattern?" 

Remus squeaked louder. James took that as a yes. "And you still don't want to talk about that?" 

"Hmm-mmn," Remus shook his head. They lapsed into silence. 

Then Remus asked, "Were you dreaming about something?" 

James grinned. "Yes, something very nice." He debated telling the boy. The fourth boy in their dorm, Peter, had taken to following them around and James had been considering making their adventerous twosome a threesome. A foursome seemed even better. But should he let someone in without Sirius agreeing to it? And would the boy even go along? 

"What?" the boy had a tone to his voice that somehow prompted James to trust him at least. 

"Remember how on the first night we were here, Virginia Weasley and Harold Bones were talking about something. We've been trying to find out what. So far we've only gotten told off once. I was dreaming that she just told us." 

Remus shook his head. "You should be more careful. Things like that can have serious consequences." He'd calmed down from the dream, but now he seemed frightened again. 

James wondered if something had once happened to him, that caused his nightmares. 

"We're careful." James assured him. "We are seasoned and experienced in what we do." That was very true. "Would you like to learn how?" 

"No," squealed the boy. 

"Okay," said James, trying to hide his dissapointment. "Um, you won't tell anyone Sirius and I-" 

"I won't," he was still squealing. James, unnerved, let go of him, and Remus slid to the floor. 

James looked down quickly. "Are you hurt?" 

"No" He pulled himself up. He looked strange in the moonlight. James was once again reminded of some sort of beast. His face seemed like a quiet one, but yet..."Thanks for waking me up." Then he went to bed. 

Remus lay there then, listening as James climbed back into bed. Within minutes he was reconsidering James's offer. 

When he'd thanked James for waking him up, he'd wanted to thank him for the offer too. For actually inviting Remus to do something with him. Noone had ever done that before. 

But he was worried about being too strange. He'd already hinted heavily to his true nature by talking about his nightmares. Combined with dissapearing at the full moon, how long was it until one of his more intelligent classmates figured it out? 

And then, he supposed, there'd be an outcry, and he'd be gone from Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore would probably be fired too. He felt guilty even now about this. This man, the only man who'd been kind to him since he was about seven, when his parents had started to take their frustrations out on him, and other people had stopped coming into his life to try to cure him, would suffer on his account. He'd try to deny that Dumbledore knew, of course, but he doubted it would help. 

Suddenly, slowly, determination flooded through him, the like of which he had never known. He would have to leave eventually, yes, but not before he made friends. Maybe he'd lose them after they found out, but at least he'd have them for a time. 

In the morning, he'd ask if he could still take James up on his offer. 


End file.
